Game of Thrones is quickly coming to an end, and many story lines are starting to wrap up. The show will have some happy endings for some characters, but not all. What many fans were probably not prepared for is Daenerys Targaryen’s dragons also being destined to a sad fate.

In the Season 7 episode, “Beyond the Wall,” we see Jon Snow and his men get surrounded by White Walkers and wights. Daenerys understandably tries to come save the day with Viserion and her other dragons. Sadly, Viserion dies and is turned into a wight by the Night King.

It has long been a theory among fans that a dragon will be turned. But is this part of a bigger plan? We came up with a theory that says the answer is yes, as well as six points proving why.

1. The theory: Like Cersei, Daenerys is destined to watch her children die

Game of Thrones | HBO

We knew early on that a witch gave Cersei Lannister a prophecy when she was young. She was told that she would be a queen — only to be dethroned by a younger woman. She would also have three children that she would outlive.

The death of Cersei’s children has already happened: Joffrey was poisoned by Olenna Tyrell; Tommen committed suicide; and Myrcella was poisoned in Dorne by Ellaria Sand and the Sandsnakes. Now, Daenerys has seen the first of her children (aka dragons) killed.

The two queens could be potentially tied to the same fate, given how they have many other things in common.

Joffrey Baratheon was poisoned at his wedding to Margaery Tyrell. This was because he would have eventually been very dangerous to the Tyrells, given his cruelty. Olenna intelligently figured Tommen Baratheon would be easier to control, and so Tommen ended up marrying Margaery instead. If Tommen and the Tyrells continued to live, he would have undoubtedly been used to turn against his mother.

Viserion’s fate is very similar to how the the Tyrells’ situation would have played out. Viserion is murdered, but he is then brought back to life and successfully turned against his mother by the Night King. Will another dragon be killed and a third die from despair of what has happened to the family, just like the Baratheon children?

3. Why it’s possible: Daenerys could have been cursed by a witch as well

Daenerys with Dothraki | HBO

When Daenerys was pregnant, she turned to a witch named Mirri Maz Duur to be her midwife. She claimed to have never lost a baby. Yet when Daenerys gave birth, her son Rhaego was stillborn, and Mirri Maz Duur claimed it was a monster with scales and wings.

This isn’t exactly a prophecy, like Cersei’s aforementioned encounter with a witch, but Daenerys did take it as a sign for her future. She tells Jon Snow in “Beyond the Wall” that she can’t have children, which could actually be untrue. But we don’t exactly know what Mirri’s true intentions were.

Mirri was part of a group that was murdered by Drogo’s people. It’s possible she cursed Daenerys and Drogo out of revenge, and the dragons’ deaths could become a consequence of that.

4. Why it’s possible: The dragons have disappeared before

Daenerys and her dragons in Game of Thrones | HBO

At the beginning of the show, dragons were practically a myth. They were used to conquer the Seven Kingdoms centuries before — only for them to die in the Dance of the Dragons.

So they could be used to conquer the Seven Kingdoms for House Targaryen once again, only to die again.

5. Why it’s possible: It doesn’t bode well that the dragons are named after Daenerys’ dead brothers

Khal Drogo on Game of Thrones | HBO

Perhaps this could be a little superstitious, but names are sometimes important in Game of Thrones. We know that Daenerys named her three dragons after her brothers, who are all dead.

It could be seen as a nice tribute — or a red flag that they’re destined to die before Daenerys.

6. Why it’s possible: Their death would prove Daenerys is a leader — with or without dragons

Daenerys on Game of Thrones | HBO

We have watched Daenerys go from a woman basically sold away without her consent to a King to a Khaleesi. A big part of that growth was having dragons and fear on her side. But the problem with that is that Daenerys often claims to be a kind ruler who is the “breaker of chains.”

It’s no doubt that the dragons had a huge part of her climb to power. However, to cement that Daenerys is powerful on her own, it might be a good move to kill off her dragons and show what her life would be like without them. It would also prove that she is a dragon herself and doesn’t necessarily need the creatures.

7. Why it’s possible: Parallels between villains and heroes are often used in storytelling

Cersei Lannister on Game of Thrones | HBO

The best villain and hero stories are when the leaders of both sides actually have a lot in common. This often shows that becoming an antagonist isn’t usually inherent, but a choice. What would Cersei be like if she was a kind ruler? What would she be like if she turned to something other than vengeance after her children died?

Having Daenerys suffer the same fate, but recover in a different way, could answer these interesting questions.